


Scars

by Jedi9



Series: Rybee [4]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Girls Kissing, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Mild Language, Mild Smut, Nudity, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 12:10:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14332203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jedi9/pseuds/Jedi9
Summary: Ryder is stressed and depressed by all the things that happened to her since her arrival in Andromeda, and Peebee's feelings for Sara are growing stronger.





	Scars

Scars, Sara had a lot of those. Her body already had a few marks before leaving the Milky Way; some were made during her service in the Alliance peacekeeping forces, others dated from her teen years. Ryder passed a finger over a fresh, large mark on her left leg; that one she had gotten after falling off a cliff and impaling her leg on a rock.

She sighed heavily as she remembered how many close calls she had endured since her arrival in this new galaxy; felt anxious when remembering how much Andromeda had already taken away from her. Ryder was used to having stressed and sad moments but never had she felt as depressed as she was right now. _It’s normal to feel this way,_ Lexi had told her, but Sara had found little comfort in that.

“One hell of a fucking new beginning!” she said to no one. Except for the small hamster sitting in its cage on the work desk, Sara was utterly alone in her room, alone with her thoughts and problems.

She was never really alone, SAM was always present with her wherever she went, and Sara had to admit that it made her uncomfortable sometimes. The AI was an engineering marvel, there were no others like him, but it still made Ryder feel uneasy when she was taking a shower; or doing other personal things.

Ryder walked from her bed to the computer terminal, sat on the cozy leather chair, and began reading her emails. One glance at the message icon told her that two dozen people had written to her, probably asking for help in resolving some problems or asking her to run some errands.

“Fuck, twenty-five messages!” Sara rubbed both temples hard with her fingers, trying to massage her headache away. “Well Ryder, better get to it! Alright, let’s see what we got. Messages from the Angara, a reminder from Tann, one from Cora about her emergency evacuation drills, blah blah blah!”

She was about to delete the read messages when her eyes settled on one coming from Peebee. Intrigued, she clicked on it and read.

_From: Peebee_

_To: Moody Ryder_

_Heya! Just checking in on you. I haven’t seen your pretty face stopping by my place (the escape pod) recently and was beginning to think that you didn't need me for stress relief anymore. But, I know that’s not why I haven’t seen you a lot lately; I’ve noticed the long faces you’ve been making for a week. I might have a surprise waiting for you somewhere in the ship, find it, and the reward is yours!_

“Humm, I wonder what the reward is?” Sara archived the message and closed the screen.

She was beginning to feel excited once again, Peebee had the nack of making her feel better when she was down. _And the things she made me feel in that escape pod!_ Sara remembered the first time she had sex with Peebee; it had been the best moment of her life. The way the asari had touched her in places no one else did, had made Sara feel things she had never felt before.

Ryder, who had never had sex before arriving in Andromeda, had been clumsy and anxious the first time they had done it; and although she had never told Peebee that she was still a virgin, she was sure that the asari had figured it out by herself.

Sara walked past the med bay as she entered the garage, her eyes scanned the room for any signs of Peebee. She looked behind a crate next to the Nomad and saw that there was no one hiding there. However, she did find a little piece of Remtech lying on the cold floor. There was a display on the device, and as soon as Sara’s thumb passed over a small blue button, writings appeared on the device’s screen.

_Nice to see that you’ve received my message. Now, let’s play a game, shall we? I’ve placed other devices like the one you’re holding in your hands right now, and they all contain a clue that’ll lead you to the next one. First clue, what is the place where we had sex for the second and third time?_

Sara grinned, this is gonna be too easy. She knew all the places where she had made love to Peebee by heart; she had the memory of a Salarian when it came to the asari. Ryder headed back to the meeting room, and there it was, the second device she was looking for.

She knelt and reached under the main table with one hand, her fingers clasped around the cold metallic device, and then Ryder pulled her hand back. The Remtech was slightly different than the last one; it had no display this time.

When she activated the device, Peebee’s voice came out from the small speaker at the bottom of the green machine, startling Ryder.

“ _Good memory, Ryder! I shouldn’t be surprised; you’re the Pathfinder after all.”_ Hearing Peebee’s voice always brightened Ryder’s mood, and a smile crept across her lips as the recording continued.

“ _Remember when we were relieving stress, you were on the table, and you froze when a sound came from downstairs? That face you made was so funny!”_ Sara looked at the meeting table and laughed as she remembered the memory. _“Anyways, I guess that you’re starting to understand what the goal of the game is? As promised, here is your second clue: Where did we kiss last week?”_

Sara’s mind went back to their amazing kissing session; she remembered how good and right it felt to hold Peebee in her arms while she sucked on her lower lip. Ryder could still taste her friend’s lips when she licked hers.

“The Nomad, we kissed in the Nomad!” Sara said to herself as she walked back into the garage.

The heavy reinforced doors opened wide, and Ryder silently stepped inside the car. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Peebee on the passenger seat, a wide grin plastered on her face.

“How long have you been in there?” Sara asked when the doors closed down again.

“Ever since I sent you that message. It took you a while to open it, and I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t read it.” Peebee gently placed a loose strand of hair behind Sara’s ear, her eyes never leaving the Pathfinder. Ryder looked so young and innocent, her bright eyes and dazzling smile always made Peebee’s heart race. She couldn’t explain why she was beginning to feel so attracted to Sara, and she knew that the human was also feeling the same way.

Peebee had been in dozens of relationship back in the Milky Way; she had been with other asari, had dated a Turian or two, but Ryder was the first human she ever had sex with. She remembered the fear she had experienced when Ryder’s heart voluntarily stopped working back on the Archon’s ship, it was during that terrible moment, that Peebee realized that her feelings for the young human were more profound than she thought.

“Look who has her smile back!” Peebee whispered in Sara’s ear.

“I’m always happy when I’m around you Peebs!”

Sara’s eyes closed as her lips met Peebee’s. Peebee’s tongue darted out to lick Ryder’s upper lip, then Sara allowed the asari to slid it into her mouth. When Peebee’s tongue slowly slid on hers, Sara's mind went groggy, and her heart raced in her chest. Ryder circled Peebee’s body with one arm, and gently shoved the asari closer to her, deepening the embrace.

“I want you to know something,” Peebee said, breaking up from the long, hot kiss. “After that close call on the Archon’s flagship, I’ve begun to feel something else for you.”

“Is it a good thing, or a bad thing?” Sara asked worryingly.

“I’m not sure Ryder.” Peebee saw a worried look in Sara’s eyes, and she silently cursed her clumsiness. She had never been good at expressing her emotions, and she feared that she might have killed her chances of a relationship with Ryder. “Hey, I’m glad you’re feeling better!”

“Thanks for making me feel better with your game.” Sara smiled at the asari and leaned once again toward her.

Peebee suddenly got up from her seat and sat on Ryder’s hips, a wide grin on her lips. “I can make you feel even better, Pathfinder!”

They kissed once more, harder and faster this time. Peebee pushed Sara and pinned her to the comfortable seat while she licked the human’s upper lip. She felt Ryder’s hands moving on her body. A hand grabbed the waistband of her pants while the other sneaked under her jacket, teasing her breasts. She felt Sara’s fingers pinching her nipples, and she groaned in pleasure when Ryder’s other hand slid into her pants.

 

Half an hour later, Sara and Peebee were lying on the rear seats of the Nomad, naked, panting and sweaty. Peebee was gently moving her right hand across Ryder’s left leg, passing her fingers on the long scar. Her left arm was curled around Ryder’s back, allowing the young woman to lay comfortably on her back.

“Does it still hurts?” Peebee asked. She didn’t have any scars; she always did her best to avoid fights; she preferred to out-think her opponent rather than fight them.

“Sometimes,” Ryder’s sweaty face turned to look at Peebee. “But it doesn’t hurt now, not when you’re around.”

Ryder wanted to say more, wanted to say _I love you,_ but she didn’t. Peebee’s feelings were still conflicted, and if Sara told her how she felt; there was a good chance that the asari would leave the ship and never come back.

“Listen, Ryder, about earlier…” Peebee shifted uncomfortably next to Sara; her eyes still fixed on Ryder’s leg as she spoke. “What I told you about me feeling closer to you, I meant it. But, I’m not ready to be in a relationship just yet. Whenever I invest myself in one, it always ends up with me being heartbroken.”

“Peebee…”

“Wait, let me finish! Everybody leaves me; it’s always been like that. But, I cherish our friendship, and I don’t want to lose what we have together.”

“Listen, meeting you, it’s been the best thing to happen to me since we arrived in Andromeda,” Sara said, her green eyes fixed on the asari. “I care about you, and I’m not going anywhere, I promise!”

Peebee kissed Sara on the lips without thinking about it; she felt hot tears sliding down her cheeks as her tongue met with Ryder’s. She was falling in love with the Pathfinder, and it scared her. _Everybody leaves you sooner or late Peebee, it’s your curse!_ Kalinda’s words echoed in her mind as Sara’s arms pinned her against her warm, solidly built body.

“Take all the time you need Peebs; I’ll be here when you’re ready.” Sara wiped away the tears from Peebee’s cheeks with the back of her hand.

“Thanks, Ryder.”

Sara’s omni-tool beeped continuously on the ground, and Ryder made a face when she read the notification. “Argh, we got to go! We’re two hours away from the Nexus, and I need to take a shower. Could you be a sweetie and toss me my clothes?”

Peebee threw Sara her clothes and also began to dress. She replaced her skinny, leather pants and swung the purple jacket around her shoulders.

“A shower? Can I come?” she quickly asked Ryder. “I rub your back, and you rub mine?”

“Of course, I’d like that!” Sara said, winking at her asari friend.

“Great, I’ll swing by my room, and I’ll meet you in five.”

Ryder watched Peebee sneaking out of the Nomad, her eyes following her until she disappeared from the garage. When she was left all by herself, Sara’s mind replayed the events of the last hour. _I cherish our friendship, and I don’t want to lose what we have,_ these words hung in her mind, made her feel happy and sad at the same time.

Peebee was scarred from the inside, and the deeper Sara dug, the more emotional scars she found. Sara feared for Peebee’s emotional well being, and she will do everything in her power to help Peebee realize that she deserved to be loved.

“I’ll wait for you, Peebs.” Sara buckled her jean’s belt, left the Nomad and headed for her room. She had a feeling that her future with Peebee was about to take a turn for the better.


End file.
